Longmont school's Winter Bazaar allows community chance to shop for a cause – Longmont Times-Call

Hands-on lessons in running a retail business coupled with a focus on global issues will be on display Thursday afternoon at St. Vrain Community Montessori School.

The school’s nonprofit store, Global Explorium: Supplies for Change, will hold its Winter Bazaar from 3 to 4:30 p.m., allowing the community to shop for handmade, environmentally responsible and ethical wares to support gender equality-related a cause.

The Global Explorium is run by fourth- through sixth-graders who do everything from purchasing and pricing items to creating catalogs.

“Students opt in to all the different roles … and do all the work behind the scenes. The students also train each other in the different skills. There is an outlet for every gift that students bring to us, and they love to do it in the context of making a meaningful difference,” the school’s upper elementary leader Kate Goss said.

The store features items made by students and a range of global products. Through its support of the United Nations’ 17 sustainability goals, the student store prides itself on only offering environmentally responsible and ethical products that support charities and providing sustainable school supplies.

“Every year, they pick one of the (U.N.) goals to focus on. This year they are working on gender equality, and last year they voted to support climate action,” Goss said. “Once they have chosen that goal, they focus on where in the world the strongest need is, and then they choose which continent they are going to focus their research efforts on.”

Students have created a varying assortment of handmade products for the Winter Bazaar, where organic lavender sachets, rhythm sticks and other cultural products will be on display alongside stamps, flags and other international products from the U.N. bookstore. All proceeds will support an organization or organizations dedicated to gender equality.

Last year, through the store and Winter Bazaar students’ raised $6,000 for a clean cookstove initiative in India. They also have helped fund a school library, an ultraviolet water system, science materials, sports equipment, art supplies and classroom furniture for their sister school in Tanzania.

Global Explorium also is in a partnership with the nonprofit Peruvian Hearts, which funds education for young Peruvian girls through the sale of handmade products that also will be available during the bazaar.

The Global Explorium: Supplies for Change is rebranding of the school’s Upendo Emporium, which was the name of the store for seven years. The name change reflects an increased focus on global issues and has “inspired the children by giving them freedom and choice,” school communications coordinator Jamie Jurkovich said.

Students are deeply engaged in their work, Goss said, adding they need little supervision to carry out their store duties.

“The students see the full cycle of making a difference. They identify a need, they work all year to have resources to support that need, and then they see the difference that they make. Having that cycle completed is really empowering,” Goss said. “It has been amazing to see their ownership and the joy that they take in the work.”